Evan Woltz

Let me start by saying, Dear Readers, that "Little Shop of Horrors" is one of my all time favorite shows. In fact I was fortunate enough to see the incredible Encore's version with Ellen Greene back in July. In my opinion, Alan Menken and Howard Ashman's show is one of those near perfect musicals. So you'll understand when I say that I'm pretty picky about the show when people attempt to put it up. And that is why I'm thrilled to say that the current production from SecondStory Rep, filled with fantastic voices and tons of fun completely gets how the show needs to be done.

The 5th Avenue Theatre presents the sensational new musical Jasper in Deadland under the direction of the giftedBrandon Ivie. Starring as Jasper and his guide to the Underworld, Gretchen are The Book of Mormon's Matt Doyleand New York-based actress and musician Sydney Shepherd. Joining them on this mystical journey are Andi Alhadeff, Kyle Bernbach, Jared Michael Brown, Kyle Robert Carter, Taryn Darr, Sarah Rose Davis, Frederick Hagreen, Louis Hobson,Diana Huey, Brandi Chavonne Massey, Caety Sagoian andEvan Woltz. Check out a sneak peek below!

The 5th Avenue Theatre presents the sensational new musical Jasper in Deadland under the direction of the gifted Brandon Ivie. Starring as Jasper and his guide to the Underworld, Gretchen are The Book of Mormon's Matt Doyleand New York-based actress and musician Sydney Shepherd. Joining them on this mystical journey are Andi Alhadeff, Kyle Bernbach, Jared Michael Brown, Kyle Robert Carter, Taryn Darr, Sarah Rose Davis, Frederick Hagreen, Louis Hobson,Diana Huey, Brandi Chavonne Massey, Caety Sagoian andEvan Woltz.

A fiercely talented cast of Broadway and Seattle stars start rehearsal this week for The 5th Avenue Theatre's sensational new musical Jasper in Deadland under the direction of the gifted Brandon Ivie. Starring as Jasper and his guide to the Underworld, Gretchen are The Book of Mormon's Matt Doyle and New York-based actress and musician Sydney Shepherd. Joining them on this mystical journey are Andi Alhadeff, Kyle Bernbach, Jared Michael Brown, Kyle Robert Carter, Taryn Darr, Sarah Rose Davis, Frederick Hagreen, Louis Hobson, Diana Huey, Brandi Chavonne Massey, Caety Sagoian and Evan Woltz.

Cy Coleman, Dorothy Fields and Neil Simon's "Sweet Charity", currently playing at Seattle Musical Theatre, is not a perfect musical. There's plenty that it has going for it but it's loaded with plenty of extraneous things as well. The story is fairly depressing, the book is too wordy and there are some songs that just plain don't need to be there. So in order to get it to engage it has to be done just right. Well, unfortunately I still haven't seen a production that was there.

Seattle Musical Theatre invites Seattle to spend Valentine's month with SWEET CHARITY, the girl who wants to be loved. This Tony Award-winning musical follows the titular broad as she sings, dances, laughs, and cries her way through the harsh reality of Times Square, searching for The One. Even amongst a colorful array of characters, including her cynical trio of streetwise girlfriends, a phony evangelist, a list of unreliable suitors, the unflappable Charity knows in her heart that there's gotta be something better than this.

The New York premiere of 'Thankskilling the Musical' will begin on April 29th as part of the 'Festival of the Offensive.' The casting has been announced for the show which will be performed at The Producers' Club, Crown Theatre on West 44th Street.

One of the things I love about William Finn's shows is that he draws such rich and flawed characters which makes them all the more real and relatable. This is extremely true in his most popular work, "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee", currently playing at Seattle Musical Theatre, where the kids of the Bee, as well as the adults, work through their own idiosyncrasies. But the lovely thing about the show is that since the subjects are children, they don't deny their flaws but embrace them as a part of themselves and use them to their advantage. And the cast and crew of the SMT production recognize that and never poke fun of the characters but embrace and love them as well and that's what makes this show an absolute joy.

Opera has long been considered at the epitome of class and sophistication. Well it's time to give up that idea as 'Jerry Springer: The Opera' has come to town from Balagan Theatre in association with Seattle Theatre Group, and they've taken the highbrow nature of Opera and defecated all over it. And guess what, it's awesome! And before you think this is just some crass parody with a lot of bathroom humor and sex jokes, well it is, but it's also a smart and meaningful show with soaring operatic performers who would (some of whom have) fit right in at Seattle Opera.

It's the day after Thanksgiving and suddenly I feel myself getting attacked from a Thanksgiving turkey. No, it's not my Sister's cooking but the world premiere offering from Balagan Theatre of "Thankskilling, The Musical". It's still the completely offensive and hilarious show I saw in the summer as part of Balagan's Summer New Works readings but now a little more fleshed out. And while the humor is still there the production felt it needed a little more cooking time. The bird was just a tad underdone.

Jeff Thompson, Jordan Mann and Balagan Theatre should be ashamed of themselves as last night they opened Balagan's New Works Summer Series with Thompson and Mann's musical horror spoof "Thankskilling" based on the indie horror film of the same name. It was crude, lowbrow, crass, offensive … and one of the funniest things I've seen in awhile.

Balagan Theatre made three major announcements during a packed Season Preview Party at the Moore Theatre on Monday, June 10: 'Nirvanov' as the fifth show in the 2013-2014 mainstage season, a star-studded trio of leading ladies in Carrie: The Musical, and a newly created New Works Program, whose Summer Series debuts July 6.

The smash-hit musical Spring Awakening receives its regional premiere in Seattle this January, courtesy of the award-winning Balagan Theatre and featuring the very best of the Seattle theatre scene's next generation.

The smash-hit musical Spring Awakening receives its regional premiere in Seattle this January, courtesy of the award-winning Balagan Theatre and featuring the very best of the Seattle theatre scene's next generation.

Balagan Theatre will produce the regional premiere of Spring Awakening this January, directed by Seattle musical mainstay Eric Ankrim and featuring promising young local actors Brian Earp, Jerick Hoffer, and Diana Huey as the leading trio in this coming-of-age rock musical.

The smash-hit musical Spring Awakening receives its regional premiere in Seattle this January, courtesy of the award-winning Balagan Theatre and featuring the very best of the Seattle theatre scene's next generation.

Balagan Theatre will produce the regional premiere of Spring Awakening this January, directed by Seattle musical mainstay Eric Ankrim and featuring promising young local actors Brian Earp, Jerick Hoffer, and Diana Huey as the leading trio in this coming-of-age rock musical.

What happens when you take an already wonderful show and, due to popular demand, remount it in a larger venue? Well, sometimes the results can be disastrous. But Balagan Theatre's remount of their production of "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog", which sold out back in August, manages to take what worked before, improve upon it, and then add in the resources of ACT to create a show to rival the first. If the Six Million Dollar Man taught us anything it's that, "We have the technology. We can make him bigger, stronger, "and even more Horrible!

What happens when you take an already wonderful show and, due to popular demand, remount it in a larger venue? Well, sometimes the results can be disastrous. But Balagan Theatre's remount of their production of "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog", which sold out back in August, manages to take what worked before, improve upon it, and then add in the resources of ACT to create a show to rival the first. If the Six Million Dollar Man taught us anything it's that, "We have the technology. We can make him bigger, stronger, "and even more Horrible!

Unexpected Productions over at the Market Theatre are currently presenting a little different theatrical fare in addition to their usual Theatresports line up in "Nietzsche! The Musical!" And while the show is filled with wonderful moments of cleverness and wit, it really needs some work.